This invention relates to a life support system using less oxygen for high altitude parachutists. More particularly, this invention has a semi-closed breathing system that adds measured amounts of oxygen to recycled gas for multiple users.
Aircraft crews and parachutists need breathing systems that furnish oxygen for life support at high altitude. Some contemporary systems, such as open-circuit breathing systems are heavy and bulky and tend to be unduly complicated to compromise mission effectiveness.
One current system requires a ground oxygen supply, an aircraft oxygen supply, and a man carried oxygen supply that are all open circuit systems that require large quantities of oxygen to operate. This current system uses large xe2x80x9cKxe2x80x9d oxygen bottles weighing 125 pounds each that are used for both the ground and aircraft systems. Six men would require around 4 to 5 xe2x80x9cKxe2x80x9d bottles to complete the ground and aircraft phases of a 4-hour parachuting operation (3 hours on bottles on ground and/or aircraft and 1 hour under parachute canopy with a man carried system). Clearly, considerable space and payload is sacrificed because of the amount and weight of the required oxygen bottles, and the separate ground and aircraft systems greatly increase the logistics burden.
Thus, in accordance with this inventive concept, a need has been recognized in the state of the art for a high-altitude, semi-closed life-support system supplying oxygen and recirculating gas to multiple users.
The present invention provides a life support system having a semi-closed rebreather supplying oxygen for multiple users. The rebreather has a scrubber body having an inlet hose manifold connected to its first side. The inlet hose manifold has at least one inlet port boss to receive exhaled gas, and an overpressure valve fitting communicates with the inlet hose manifold to vent overpressure amounts of the exhaled gas. A CO2 absorbent in the scrubber body receives the exhaled gas and scrubs CO2 from the exhaled gas. An outlet hose manifold connected to a second side of the scrubber body has an inlet fitting to supply oxygen and at least one outlet port boss to feed the oxygen and the CO2 scrubbed gas to the users. A first tank supplies oxygen to initially help purge the system, and a second, larger tank supplies oxygen at prescribed amounts for the duration of a mission.
An object of the invention is to provide a life-support breathing system of reduced complexity for multiple high altitude parachutists.
Another object of the invention is to provide a single and compact semi-closed life-support breathing system to eliminate the need for other ground and aircraft oxygen systems and supplies.
Another object of the invention is to provide a life-support breathing apparatus recycling users"" breath, thus greatly reducing the quantity of oxygen required for a mission.
These and other objects of the invention will become more readily apparent from the ensuing specification when taken in conjunction with the appended claims.